


Have I met you in Another Life?

by papercranewishes



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-06-26 20:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15670578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papercranewishes/pseuds/papercranewishes
Summary: “I’ll take it all with everything I haveThe guidepost to tomorrow unfurls before my eyesIf I could inscribe your glittering figure in my heart,I would copy it to the sky!Ah, I vaguely recallThe warmth of your soft hands as I close my eyes”ポラリス:Polaris - FUJIFABRICFour times Todoroki and Midoriya have met and lost each other ; That one time where they finally meet





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please give me your thoughts on this and I will try and improve my writing style  
> I'm really new to this

The first time they meet , it's through pure chance. Izuku literally bumps into Todoroki. 

( or is it Fate ? )

Izuku is a low-born samurai-in-training, though that should be very obvious from the way he stumbles over his feet into a bow and the clanking double swords at his belt that bounce against his shins, as he rushes to bow in servitude to the youngest son of the powerful Fire Lord Enji . It's just by chance that he was heading back home to meet his mother and he just happened to walk into one of the processions that Fire Lord Enji organises . He panics inwardly- should Enji find out that Izuku is the well-hidden heir to the shogunate of Yuuei and also Yagi Toshinori's son , he would't hesitate to execute Izuku immediately . Why would he , with the very obvious encroaching of the Endeavour Kingdom on Yuuei's borders? 

The very minute forest eyes meet heterochromatic eyes like the sky and cold dark onyx , he knows in his heart of hearts that he is irrevocably lost , drowning in the sea of Todoroki's eyes . Suddenly , he grows aware that Todoroki is politely staring at him with a hint of curiosity evident in his eyes . Izuku croaks out a barely audible " sorry " and startles to see that the prince smiles back at him , with his mouth crinkled up at the corners and his eyes glowing with something he cannot identify . With a tenor voice laced with a hint of a smooth baritone that makes Izuku fall for him even more , he quietly reassures him that he is alright and inquiring , after a pause , if he could meet up with him sometime . (He introduces himself with the name Shouto-but Izuku knows who he really is ) . Izuku is suddenly filled with a sense of regret , after all , he is just passing through the town but he adds that he could probably linger a few days more , receiving a smile that made his heart beat much faster .

After all, life is short, so he should try and live it while he still could, while war hadn't come for him yet .

They attend the Sumidagawa festival together , and by then , it is definitely true love between the both of them , and all Izuku leaves behind as he leaves that town is his first name and his heart .

 

The next time they meet is as opposite as can be- on the battlefield . Izuku felt his heart break even further , glass shards in his chest , as he met the gaze of Shouto . Utter horror and betrayal looked back at him as Todoroki made eye contact with him with a flash of heartbreak in his eyes which transformed into a snow-filled tundra of bitterness and regret as he set his deadliest samurai upon him . The last thing Izuku saw was Shouto making a glance over to him and burying his face in his hands.

With his final, dying breaths, Izuku prayed to the deities above for a chance to amend his mistakes,no matter how many lives he would have to live through

Till he found Todoroki Shouto again.


	2. Light of my Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based in the universe of Howl's Moving Castle

Todoroki lives in a world where magic runs rampant and there,with many different phenomenon out there.It’s been like that since time immemorial-or at least when people started recording time.Even in such an era,myths like wishing on a shooting stars still persist and all kinds of things still happen that are beyond human comprehension.

Todoroki is very aware that at the current moment,his father is always being relegated to being the-second-most-powerful Grand Wizard,otherwise known as Endeavour of the Wild Wastes.His father bitterly eschews the fact every! single! day! And Shouto knows that he as a supposed elemental sorcerer who is the most perfect creation with a combination of fire and ice,should defeat All Might,currently the most powerful Sorcerer in this era.

He also thinks that Endeavour’s attitude and non-existence of charisma in general is really the reason why he is always lagging behind All Might,who obviously is doing much better in both areas.

When he comes of age,he decides to take on a journey to see the world and find himself.(He just wanted to get his father off his back so he doesn’t have to listen to him rant about how Shouto was not doing what he was born to do-defeat All Might).

He remembers the salt-sand taste of the air in Porthaven,the searing desert sands and domed sandstone towers of Zanzib,and the dignified streets of Kingsbury.

Making his way around a big lonely world was difficult sometimes,without the financial backing that was guaranteed for him if he had stayed with his father;but he’d rather spend his nights at tiny inns at remote outposts than be trapped within the illusion of comfort of his father’s house,a trapped bird in a gilded cage.

Over the past three years,he has made a great many friends,counting royals and grand-wizards among them.Kings call upon him occasionally to perform favours and powerful spells whenever they can find him,and the payment that he gets doesn’t hurt;he hears the whispers that trail him like the smoke that trails him when he is agitated that he was obviously slated to become the next Grand Wizard after All Might with his obviously powerful magic talent.He shies away from the responsibilities of the position-he’ll never be able to live up to All Might’s legacy.

No matter how far he traveled or the wonders he found on his journeys,he always felt a unfathomable empty space in his heart.The day he realised this,he’d found a tiny cove tucked away in the shadows of the rugged coastline;a little piece of solitude that belonged to him and him alone.After that,he tried to rekindle the sparks of discovering new places in his heart,but all he felt was that horrible emptiness(and a flicker of longing for a place to truly call home).

Days after he turns eighteen(he celebrates it with Tenya-kun and Uraraka-san-both on their way to illustrious careers in being a royal knight and rescue magician respectively),he comes across a small town nestled the green valleys of Ingary-Market Chipping.Something tells him to stay in the town for a while;he finds accommodations in a quaint room facing the train tracks that run through the town that,he is told,that used to be a room on top of a hatshop.

He visits the local bar.From personal experience,he knows that alcohol is the best catalyst in getting people to give up information.This time,he just wants to know where are the places that he can stargaze in peace.He can’t risk revealing himself to civilians;they might spill that he’d been here to Endeavour,who’d recently upped his campaign to hunt him down.Ignoring the sultry,flirty sidelong glances women threw him,he thinks back to sunshine memories made with Iida-kun and Uraraka-san and how they used to stargaze on grassy hilltops,dance in a sloppy formation in moonlit meadows and theatrical whispers made under Iida’s favourite quilt as they all spooned on each other.

That all ended when Shouto left on his journey;when Iida joined the Royal knights;when Uraraka left for her apprenticeship with Wizard Thirteen(she would have been a fully-fledged wizard by now,Shouto mused thoughtfully).They’d all grown up.

Sometimes,Shouto feels like the five-year-old him again,forever hiding himself in his mother’s skirts,hiding from the world and longing for the warmth and love he’d never have.

Per to one villager’s very helpful suggestion,he made his way to the marshes near the border of Ingary and High Norland and made himself comfortable.

The Silver River glows and meanders among the stars as he uses his finger to trace the paths of the constellations in the sky.Feeling tiny and insignificant beneath the wide expanse,he leaned back in pure contentment,until-

Stars started falling from the sky.

He suddenly feels a sense of childish playfulness,curiosity and excitement.Spur of the moment,he runs after the star trails,quick as a whip.He then summons his ten-league shoes(patented by Wizard Howl and company,thank you very much)and in two great strides,he tracks the path of an unusually bright gold star that will most likely land near to where he is standing.Adrenaline rushes through him as he sprints the last few steps to catch the star neatly in his hands,sparks still shimmering around it like a beautiful,concentrated lightshow.

What he doesn’t expect is that after he catches the star,it glows a soft,forest green and turns into a person.Both of them study each other in contemplation,each unable to tear their eyes away from each other.Shouto notes how the light of the Silver River shines on the star-boy to bring out the black and gold undertones in his hair.

Oh,his eyes were made of a thousand shades of green,verdant,forest and viridian with flecks of gold and blue interspersed all around it,containing the wisdom of a hundred thousand lives within them.

“Hello,nice to meet you.I’m Izuku.What’s your name?”breathes the star.

Shouto feels a jolt of recognition and familiarity at the star’s name,a sense that somehow,somewhere before.

He then proceeds to unload on Izuku his life story,and when it ends,Izuku proclaims that Shouto now has a traveling companion.

 

He shows Izuku all his favourite,wonderful places in the world and slowly,over time and going through difficulties together,they become friends.Shouto wishes many things.

He wishes that they could maybe someday become more than friends,something more than what they had now.

(He wishes that he could tell Izuku that he had finally found his home:in Izuku.)

 

One day,with the blessings of Uraraka and Iida,Shouto confesses his feelings in a meadow in Ingary.To his shock,Izuku turns cherry red and mumbles in that endearing,puppy-dog shy-kitten way that he loves Shouto too.From then onwards,they are never seen apart from each other and always seem to be in a world of their own.His friends mention how happy he seems now.

Life isn’t always perfect.  
\

However,one day,Shouto’s past catches up to him and a life is lost.Endeavour had finally caught up to them.

The minute he’d seen Izuku,he’d crowed in delight and to Shouto’s horror,slit Izuku’s throat in front of him as part of some obscure ritual(Shouto doesn’t care about that,only about Izuku)to yet attempt to gain more power.

Shouto feels nothing as he freezes Endeavour to death.A life for a life-he thinks.

His world fell away the minute Izuku’s body fell and shimmered into a beautiful green-golden rain.He wanders for months afterwards,distraught and dissolute.

Finally,he throws himself off a cliff near the marshes where he’d first met Izuku.  
(What was life,without him?)

“I’ll find a way to you again,light of my life”he murmured to the winds and the heavens as he fell and fell and fell.


	3. Moonlight road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on the fairytale The Water Of Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you who have commented,bookmarked or put kudos on my work.It has really made my day!

For Midoriya Izuku,his mother has always been his one unchanging constant in his life.No matter what all the others said about him and how useless he was to the point that his father had simply left them when Izuku had been very young,the both of them had stuck by each other through the good times and the bad.

Though the way Kacchan had left their village,refusing to even acknowledge him,had hurt so much.

Life has dealt them a unlucky hand.Midoriya Inko suffers from an incurable disease,and all Izuku can do is carry on his futile research to perhaps find a cure,to find what no one else has before.

Watching his mother fade away in front of his eyes,he makes a decision that scares and excites him all at once.

He’ll walk the moonlight road to enter The Kingdom Under The Mountain and obtain the Water of Life,cure to all ailments,and save his mother(somehow).

Bidding his mother goodbye and knowing that he might not see her again made him feel all the more guilty.Hardening his heart,memories of his friends and family strengthening his heart,he heads towards where waves crash against pale sand,carrying what little he owns with him,as well as the spell book and sword the village elder Aizawa had pressed wordlessly in his hands.

He takes deep breaths at the edge of the far-stretching,all-compassing ocean.

As the clock strikes midnight,he whispers what could be his final goodbye to his home and steps onto the road made of moonshine,dreams and a thousand other things towards Fairyland.

The moonlight road seems light and buoyant underneath the leather of his shoes,and it is highly unnerving how,in the possibility that the road dissolves,that he would be stranded in the middle of the ocean with no way back.

Izuku comes to an abrupt halt when he sees a phouka-fey with ever-shifting forms-appear in front of him.He hands what he treasures most over as a tribute to seek consent from the gatekeepers to allow him to enter the home of the fairies.

What he treasures most isn’t what he just passed the phouka,though.It is the memories of his mother and his fight to save the one who gave him life that matter most.

The gatekeeper gives Izuku a surveying look,eyes filled with a fleeting glimpse of worry and resignation(and even a little admiration)before schooling his face into a artfully blank expression.He gestures for him to follow as he creates a portal that seems to swirl with stars and arcane symbols that seem to be there and not be there all at once.

Steeling his heart with courage,he steps forward into an unending,whirling kaleidoscope of light and colours.

After what seems like eternity,Izuku lands in velvety heather and turns around to inspect his surroundings.

Compared to the world he had arrived from,everything in Fairyland seemed so much brighter and so full of-life.Even the meadow he’d landed in seemed so much more greener as compared to the scraggly forest back near his hometown in the other world,his world.He thus made his way towards the forest he had seen nearby,eager to be in a environment he was familiar with.

Then,he realised that the woods had fallen silent the moment he’d reached them.He remains where he is for the moment in an effort to regain his bearings as well as figure out what he would do next(this had been a last-minute plan spun out of mainly uncertainty with a dash of recklessness).  
Leaves rustle above him,and a shadow passed nearly soundlessly through the foliage above him.Izuku gasped not at the presence of the other being,but at the fact that-

The shadow had pointed ears,a trademark of the Unseelie court.

He sensed someone watching him from behind and whipped his head around to interrogate him.A fairy boy was hanging upside down from a branch of the tree behind him and then in one smooth flawless motion,had righted himself on the branch.Red and white strands of hair glinted in the sunshine as he met Izuku’s viridian eyes with his own sky and ocean eyes.He patted the space beside him on the branch to indicate that Izuku should sit beside him.

Izuku felt that he shouldn’t have trusted some stranger Unseelie fairy,but somehow he felt safe around this one-his heart was telling him that he could put his trust in this fairy.

“You’re here to procure something you can’t get in the world above,aren’t you?”he smiled, amused at Izuku’s defensive look.”I can tell,and I’m willing to help you search for whatever you are looking for.”

After Izuku explained his quest to find the Water of Life,he’d frowned and said that it was many days of journey away and was likely to be fraught with danger.He’d decided that they may as well leave as soon as they could to make the most of their time,as it would be all the way near the Crystal River Anura.

“Why are you so willing to help me?I...I’m just a useless human that will bring trouble to you.You don’t have to do this,there is no need.”The words had burst out of his mouth without him knowing and he immediately clapped his hands over his mouth in shock.At this,the boy muttered darkly under his breath and sighed heavily,extending his hand towards him.

“Let’s be honest here.I’m Shouto,and I’m the fourth prince of the Unseelie Court.The Water of Life lies within the borders of the lands of the Unseelie Court and my father is very possessive of it.He hates people who attempt to take the Water,as well as humans in general,especially those with magical gifts.Like you.”He smirked at Izuku’s shocked expression.”I hate him,so I’ll help you just to spite him.”His face softened slightly.’’Among other reasons.”

Izuku knew,as all children of his village knew,that names gave power-and Shouto had given him a huge gift of trust by entrusting Izuku with his name and thus he saw fit to tell his name likewise,to his newfound friend and possibly only ally in Fairyland.

His breath hitched as Shouto replied sadly,”I know your name already.”

He then turned around and stalked away in that elegant and impossibly silent way of his,not unlike the pawsteps of a cat,down a trail through the forest,leaving no room for argument as well as Izuku scrambling to keep up behind him.

Following the same routine,they fell into the pattern of having breaks or resting during the night and traveling during the day(“Trust me,you don’t want to know what comes out during the night”)and while the were travelling,Shouto taught Izuku some magic to learn how to defend himself should he need to in case Shouto couldn’t be there for him.

Soon enough,his skills in magic are put to the test when a whole band of hostile fae attack the two of them-firstly,as they have some grudge against Shouto and secondly,as they hold a understandable hatred against humankind in general.

Shouto and Izuku decide to avoid fairy revels altogether as they usually culminate in a huge chaotic mess which takes a long time to extract themselves from.

As if drawn to Izuku like a magnet,they pick up travelling companions among the way,like the highly-misunderstood tall fae with wild purple hair Shinsou,the optimistic air fairy Uraraka and the down-to-earth speedster Iida.

Over the course of a journey,Izuku and Shouto grow increasingly closer until it reaches the point where it is obvious that they are head over heels for each other to the perspective of a bystander.

(Both parties know in their subconcious thoughts that they have certainly met somewhere and in some bygone era,so they greet each other like old friends and lovers,like how it all should be,the jigsaw pieces they were looking for all falling into the right place.)

Finally,Izuku reaches the base of the hill where the spring of the Water of Life gushes forth,hand in hand with Shouto,who would and will continue to stay by Izuku’s side till death parted them.(He’d lost Izuku before and he wasn’t about to let go of him again.)

Under the watchful gaze of the talking bird and the shade of the singing tree,they take a moment of their own and reflect on life,facing the quiet murmurs of the turquoise stream.Shouto notices that Izuku grows anxious to return to his mother’s side and squeezes his hand to both comfort him and to reassure him that Shouto will still be there for him and would never leave him(like how Izuku’s father had abandoned Inko and Izuku,leaving behind a little boy that would never know what a father was)

Izuku returns to his village the same way he’d left it,just returning with enough wisdom to fill many lifetimes in his eyes,a distinct aura of otherworldliness that is atypical of those who linger in Fairyland for too long,and a (to his village)rather untrustworthy fae as a companion.

Both simply did not belong in the ordinary dull world anymore,no matter what valiant sacrifices Izuku had made to save his mother.

One day,the new council of village elders(who were all mistrustful idiots in Izuku’s opinion-Shouto hadn’t done anything!)arrived at the Midoriya household to deliver an extremely upsetting but not wholly unexpected piece of news.

Midoriya had been sentenced to burn at the pyre for harboring a fae and practicing magic-Izuku had hoped that his little bouts of magic to help people wouldn’t be noticed-and Shouto was to be locked in a iron cell to die for simply being a fey and apparently besmirching the safe haven of Mustastafu by simply existing.

The order was effective from that moment onwards.

Izuku and Shouto had tried to escape,but were overwhelmed by the sheer number of guards that the elders had surprisingly had the foresight to bring.They didn’t even have the time to say goodbye to Inko’s mother(knocked unconcious from her valiant efforts to save her son and his friend)

They didn’t even have time to bid farewell to each other(just like in their previous lives) before they were hauled off to meet their deaths.

One died in a roar of flames,hated and belittled by the people he had grown up with and accused of something he had only done to help others.He would die weeping sadly not for himself,but for his mother who had given him lie,the cruelty of the world and the fate of his love).

One died locked in a iron cell deep underground that killed him slowly from the inside(but not as much as his broken jigsaw heart) remembering times spent in another world where his loved one and him spent memories and sunshine together,believing in a bond that they both knew would and could never last-just like the fleeting moments of a rainbow or an eclipse of the moon.He would pass on with his mouth curled into a smile as he relived memories of better times even as his body gave in.

Both believed that perhaps,in another world,another lifetime,they would surely meet again. 

Through the unyielding bond of their souls that were always meant to be like the laws that governed the universe.


	4. The World is Not Perfect

Since time immemorial,there has been the existence of a mysterious phenomenon-Soulmates.  
No one knows when this all started,nor what had caused it.It was a part of the world,the laws of the universe,and what everyone agreed on was that it was better left unexplained(though scientists had attempted to).

Soulmates.

The very word rang with the ancient promise that somewhere out there,there would be someone who was your other half and in meeting one another,would make one whole again.There were many tales told about such examples of soulmates that were passed down through history.

However,most people never did find their other halves.They longed for someone who simply wasn’t and couldn’t be there for them and if they ever met their soulmates,it would only be by chance.You see,most people spent their lives looking,but only a small percentage had even accomplished their goal.

Soulmates could contact each other through numerous ways-through mirrors,switching bodies,writing on skin-well,suffice to say,the possibilities were endless.

All this was according to Shouto’s mom.(But he didn’t miss the way her eyebrows scrunched up on her forehead afterwards,or the way her birdlike frame hunched inwards like she had the world on her shoulders and was trying to hide from it.)

To Shouto,she’d always be the world to him,and he’d never wanted to leave her.He would protect her from all that hurt her-including,no,especially his father.She stood for everything he held dear.

He would still maintain his opinion even when she poured boiling water on his face,and continued to do so after the quick and decisive custody battle.What he was angry at was not the fact that his mother had hurt him,but at the fact that his father had pushed her to such extremes.

It also helped that his soulmate sign had appeared on his arm-a child’s wobbly hiragana in a viridian hue-

“You’ve been hurting and I hope you get better real soon.How can I help you?”

To that end,Shouto had written down a few facts,but not the full story about what had happened.

“Hey there.Remember that even when you feel lonely,I’m always here for you so don’t feel sad.I don’t wish to see you sad!”

His soulmate,now identified as Izuku,proceeded to draw an extremely accurate caricature of one Todoroki Enji,his cruel businessman father and COE of Endeavour corporation.

His stomach had hurt for the next few days after he’d spent a full one hour simply rolling on the floor laughing and he was pretty sure he could feel the sunshiny joy in his soulmate too,along with a dash of pride and achievement for making Shouto happy.

His soulmate would soon become the one shining constant in his life,a beacon to guide him through his darkest days and a faithful companion on his brightest(not that there were many).He was pretty sure that his soulmate could feel all the injuries he got during “training sessions”(“How else am I supposed to instil discipline in you,my creation-”)so he tried his best not to anger his father,which was getting increasingly harder to do.

He smirked when he saw Yagi Toshinori,his father’s rival,clinch the awards for Most Innovative Company and Most Valued Company for the fifth year running,something that his father had never managed to do.His soulmate proceeded to rant about the general awesomeness of the One for All company and how he’d set his sights on joining it and how charismatic the CEO was.

It was quite endearing to see his soulmate like this,and he wished that Izuku would never change.(He wished Izuku would tell him about all the bruises he seemed to get everyday instead of hiding it.)

Why would anyone hurt a boy as wonderful and kind as Izuku?Whoever those people were,they certainly didn’t understand him at all.(“Don’t worry,Shouto.Those...were injuries I got at school.I’m really sorry about how often I get hurt.”)

Later in life,Shouto would understand that his soulmate was too kindhearted to tell him the truth that he was being bullied in the fear that Shouto would be worried and scared for him.

People told secrets and lies to hide their own intentions,but to Shouto,it was clear as a blue sky that Izuku wanted to protect Shouto and cared about him to the point that he’d hide the fact that he was bullied just so he could show the world that he was alright(but he knew Izuku hurt so,so much on the inside that it was like a bottomless chasm in which lived the phantoms of a longing for a friendship crushed under a sneaker long ago,the recognition of his classmates,and above all,a forlorn dream that he could be much more than the “stupid,useless Deku” and do his mother proud.)

Izuku had thought that if he tried hard enough,perhaps his father would come home.Shouto couldn’t relate,but he still spent time to wait with Izuku as neat rows of arctic-blue kanji on his arm on those long,lonely nights when Izuku’s mother sobbed quietly from behind the door of her room,hoping for a husband that would never come.Shouto comforted Izuku even as he broke down into sobs himself,filled with self-hatred that was due to the fact that Izuku thought that he was the reason why his dad had left,and not due to the much more plausible reason that perhaps his father was a cheating,unfaithful bastard that didn’t deserve the blessings on earth as known as Inko and Izuku.

Shouto hoped that he could meet Izuku one day to express his feelings.

When he turned eighteen,his wish came true.

Shouto majors in international business and perhaps unsurprisingly,he meets Izuku in the same lecture hall as him.After all,Izuku had dreams to change the world for the better like Yagi Toshinori so it was expected.What Shouto hadn’t expected was for Izuku to make it into Yuuei University,which had tuition fees that were not to be scoffed at.He’d inferred that Izuku’s family was kind of short on the money side,but Izuku had declined Shouto’s offer of financial resources(actually it was his old man’s cash but he didn’t have to know).

He approached Izuku from behind from where he had been chatting with a classmate.Unsure,he tapped Izuku’s shoulder gently and proceeded to pull him aside.

Curiosity glinted in Izuku’s eyes as Shouto stood before him,unsure of himself.Eventually,Izuku spoke up.

“Excuse me,what did you pull me aside for…(um,sorry but I don’t know your name..)”the last part was whispered in a tidal rush of words.He was smiling that polite but distant smile all the while.Shouto gulped.No time like the present.

“Well,I think you may be my soulmate.You see,I don’t think there are any other people named Midoriya Izuku out there.Your style of writing is exactly the same as the one that appears on my arm.”Whoops,Shouto had injected too much snarkiness into his words.Darn.  
Surprisingly,his words seemed to turn on the fire hydrant that was Izuku’s tear ducts.Shouto swore that his tears could supply a city with water as he stumbled closer to Izuku in an attempt to comfort Izuku.Izuku was trying to speak through his sobs and failing epically.

What had he done?!

After watching Izuku calm himself down after an impressive fifteen minutes of crying,he murmured,”Are you okay now,Midoriya-kun?”

When Izuku raised his head to meet Shouto’s gaze,he swore that he fell in love with him all over again when he smiled that devastating megawatt smile and said,”You’re really funny and kind,Shouto.And I was crying,well,because I never expected to meet you and …”his face reddened slightly”You are much more amazing in person than I thought you would be.Call me Izuku,you know me by that name anyways.Thanks for all you have done for me.Let’s be friends.Deal?”

At this point,Shouto was so overwhelmed with emotion that he shook Midoriya’s warm and unexpectedly scarred hand,proceeding to spend the rest of the day in a daze.

That night,he made the unexpected discovery that Izuku was in fact his roommate,sending him even further down the spiral of perpetual surprise.To comfort himself,Shouto started unpacking his belongings,especially his beloved collection of manga(until now,he had no idea how he managed to hide all of these from his father).He was rearranging them according to series on his shelf when-

“Shouto,you read manga!!!Me too!I’ve met a fellow otaku!”was Izuku’s gasp at what Shouto was doing.His hands covered his mouth,which was stretched in an ‘O’ due to shock and with his eyes sparkling in joy,which was an extremely cute gesture.

Shouto told his heart to be still and stop trying to escape his chest(obviously he failed).

He was not blushing!(But he was,and so was Izuku.)

“I guess we share common interests,Izuku.Wanna head down for lunch with me?”Shouto’s heart started thudding all too fast again as he felt the words tumble from his lips before he could stop himself.Was that too forward of him?Did Izuku mind?

“Sure,Shouto.I don’t mind-in fact,I’m really fortunate to have met you.C’mon,I’ll introduce you to my friends.”Izuku’s voice broke through his mental lecture.Outlined in the doorway of their room,he turned around and grinned at Shouto,his eyes filled with a mixture of hope? And mirth.Swallowing back the mysterious of nostalgia that hit him,Shouto followed Izuku out of the room.

Unsurprisingly,Izuku’s friends Iida and Uraraka were just as nice and kind as Izuku.Birds of a feather really did flock together,Shouto mused internally as he introduced himself to Izuku’s friends.By the end of lunch,he had been officially inducted into Izuku’s friend group,otherwise known as-”The Dekusquad!!!”-according to Uraraka,beaming brightly as Iida nodded approvingly in the background and Izuku attempting to turn his flustered face away from them.He couldn’t keep an amused chuckle from escaping his mouth at the whole scene.

Shouto didn’t notice the way Izuku looked at him with admiration,joy and just a bit of lingering affection,or the way Uraraka had looked at Izuku with mild concern.Iida just sat there drinking his orange juice,which was,of course,expected.

Over the next few months,all of them got along like a house on fire,somehow sharing the same time slots for classes although their majors were different.Shouto began to admire all of them for all of their individual strengths as he got to know them better.

Iida was the ever dependable and utterly loyal friend.The anchor of the group,he cared for all of them in his own way by staying by their sides through thick and thin,though his efforts to get all of them to try and live a healthy lifestyle(ie.”Both of you,stop binge watching anime and forgetting to sleep.Uraraka,stop joining them.Please remember to study and cut down on the caffeine.”)were commendable but ultimately ignored.He did look out for all of them in his steadfast,mother-hen way,and that was something Shouto respected.

Uraraka was a force of nature in her own right.She could be bright and bubbly towards life,but if the situation called for it or if anyone hurt her family and friends,woe betide anyone who awoke the sleeping tiger.He was pretty sure everyone on campus feared her in secret after that day happened.(No one spoke about what had happened;it was too scary even to be thought about.)She worked hard to the point of exhaustion because she wanted her parents to have a better life and according to her-”Not even a tornado can stop me at this point.I gotta earn money so my parents will never be poor again!”.To be honest,her enthusiasm and optimism towards life was what spurred all of them on sometimes.

Just what was Izuku to him,then?

Well,Izuku was the world to him.Firstly,he went above and beyond to help people,no matter if he himself needed help or not.Selflessly,he would put his own desires aside to extend a hand to the other party even if they didn’t need or want help.He always had a smile on his face,burying his feelings deep inside to show the world that he was fine and that there was no need to worry about him.He strived on continuously towards his dreams,never giving up and putting his 100% effort in everything he did.He showed kindness to all,never expecting returns.He was also brilliant in his studies,with a smart,analytical mind.

He was the person Shouto would fall for,for countless times.

They spent many moments together,in a little world together,both with but usually without their other friends.It was the moments that Shouto spent in the blue glow of the videos playing on Shouto’s laptop and huddled under his quilt,not watching the anime but watching Izuku instead,the hushed whispers of discussions of mundane things over midnight coffees and the way Izuku went out of his way to visit his mother with him that Shouto realised that love had taken root within his heart for Midoriya Izuku(if it hadn’t already that lonely night long ago).

He doesn’t realise that his feelings are reciprocated until their third and final year,during an excursion to the roof of their dorm.

That night,they sneak onto the roof to watch a widely-anticipated comet that comes close to the Earth only once in 200 years.Recently,Izuku had been rather jumpy and nervous around him,so Shouto eyes Izuku with concern before muttering,”Never pegged you for the type that was interested in astrology.”

“Am too!”he retorts before falling into an awkward silence,his face flushed with indignance.After a while,he mutters,”Well...I wanted to get you alone..t-to tell you something.”His back to Shouto,he whispers something Shouto can’t quite catch.

“Uh...Izuku,could you repeat that?Louder?”Shouto felt his heart humming in apprehension for Izuku’s next words.Izuku turns around,face steadily reddening as he breathes in.The next words shake him to his core.(So why does he feel a twinge of deja vu in the back of his mind?)

“I love you,Todoroki Shouto!Since the day you reminded me that I wasn’t alone and I would never be alone-because you’d be there for me,like you always have and will be.P...please don’t make me repeat myself.I can’t bear it,to see you fall in love with another.You’d never want to be with a soulmate like me.”

Shouto is dissolving,drowning in a whirlpool of surprise,relief and pure happiness.Somehow or the other,he manages to say,”I can’t fall for another person,when the only one I want to be with is you!You’re the most wonderful soulmate and friend anyone could ask for and you are worthy of anyone who has eyes.I don’t know why you’ve fallen for a defective product like me,but I promise I won’t leave your side.”

At this point,Shouto can feel trails of wetness make their way down his face;Izuku isn’t much better.

They spend that night together in each other’s arms,reminding each other that they will always be there for each other and they would never leave each other’s sides.

They walk into the cafeteria holding hands.Surprisingly,there is not much reaction except for the usual “Congratulations!” and “Finally you guys got together!”.Uraraka and Iida slide knowing smiles towards the couple-only they know how long this had been going on.Teasing lilt in her voice,Uraraka smirked,”Iida and Shinsou,along with other individuals,are paying hard cash to me.Thanks for getting together!”

The both of them could see the shit-eating grins on Shinsou and Iida’s faces and they made a mental note to themselves to interrogate the both of them later.Uraraka had already long escaped,of course.

All too soon,the day came where they all graduated.For the final time,the Dekusquad reconvened to spoon on each other like puppies in the middle of the courtyard.

Tears from all parties were exchanged,as well as promises to meet up after they all embarked on their various career journeys.As Izuku and Shouto left Yuuei as students for the final time,they watched Iida and Uraraka wave frantically to the bus pulling away from the bus stop.

As he watched Yuuei,his home for three years and site of his most treasured memories,fade amongst the trees,regret for all that he lost welled up in his heart.At least,he’d have Izuku beside him.

Sensing his distress,Izuku squeezed his hand and sent him one of his smiles that made Shouto’s heart pound again like that very first day.He rummaged in his pocket and took out his green Sharpie pen and wrote on his arm.

Shouto’s eyes filled with tears as he gazed at the forest green letters on his arm-”Don’t worry.I’m always here for you.”

He was blessed.

They settle down in an apartment in downtown Tokyo,near to their workplaces so it was easy to commute.Settling down in a type of routine not unlike what they had in the Yuuei dorm,they lived together like they were meant for each other and would always be.

(Sometimes,they were so used to seeing the other that they wondered if they had been together in their previous lives.)

Then that incident happened,and their easy way of living was shattered instantly.

It was a car collision that had killed Izuku.According to footage of the accident,a little boy and his mother had been crossing the road when out of nowhere,a car barrelled towards the both of them.The mother had hugged the boy to her,caught in the glare of the headlights with panic.Izuku,of course,had rushed out and tackled the duo to the side,saving the both of them.However,he’d taken the brunt of the impact.

He’d died instantly.

From that day onwards,Shouto lost the will to live.He was so numb with grief that he’d forgotten how to cry,and was listless and apathetic to the concern of his friends and colleagues.He hated the fact that everywhere he looked in his apartment,all he could see was traces and memories of Izuku,or to be more accurate,the loss of him.

Izuku’s funeral is a small and private event for family and friends.Watching the coffin being lowered into the ground,he comes to the jarring conclusion,the cemented fact that Izuku was gone,and he’d never see him again,touch him again,or even tell him “I love you” even for one last time again.

For what was life without Izuku?

Weeks later,Shouto ran in front of a train.He’d died instantly too.He had finally accomplished his goal-to join his soulmate in the spirit world,or even in his next life.

Strangely,as detectives had remarked later,he had a small smile on his face.

(He’d live his life over and over again,if just to be able to meet Izuku one last time.)


	5. From Me To You

“I’ll take it all with everything I have  
The guidepost to tomorrow unfurls before my eyes  
If I could inscribe your glittering figure in my heart,  
I would copy it to the sky!

Ah, I vaguely recall  
The warmth of your soft hands as I close my eyes”

ポラリス:Polaris - FUJIFABRIC

It’s all a dream come true for Izuku,the boy who had a heart too big for his home and had long ago resigned himself to being worthless and helpless,to never hope of coming close to the likes of Kacchan.His mother looks on worriedly at his back-he knows that she will support him through thick and thin,just like she has done for so many years.

After all,it is time for him to show the world that he was here,and how can one do that within the confines of a mother’s arms?To face the harsh realities of the world,you cannot stay isolated and thus Izuku Midoriya set out to do exactly that.

(They don’t mention the times when Izuku came home with burns,cuts and bruises and refused to say anything for hours afterwards;they don’t bring up the time when Dr.Fujioka delivered the heartbreaking and oh-so-disappointing news;they don’t think of the nights Inko cried alone in her room,begging forgiveness from her child and a husband that was never there,while Izuku himself attempted to pick up his shattered dreams and piece them together,mourning for an aspiration that could never be.)

If Izuku had been born with a quirk,he wouldn’t have been treated and scorned like an abomination,a freak that didn’t deserve to live,a powerless weakling in an era of superpowers.

Understandibly,Inko had been overjoyed when she had received the news that not only her darling Izuku had manifested a quirk,he had also managed to enter the school of his dreams,Yuuei High,home of the heroes.Which came to the issue of All Might.

Now that Izuku thought about it,it really was a series of remarkable coincidences that led to him receiving One for All from All Might.Both he and his mother were doubtlessly indebted to the man who had smashed his way into their lives and had changed them for the better.These days,his mother was smiling more and he himself didn’t feel that melancholic as much as he used to.After all,he had his friends and family to support him and fight alongside him on his way to fulfil his dreams-to become the Number One Pro hero and become strong enough to help everyone.He’d do everyone,including and especially All Might,proud!He hummed in self-affirmation,earning a few weird looks from the commuters around him as he turned around and gazed out of the train window towards the direction of Yuuei.

Hours later,he was reconsidering his words again as he stepped into the facilities Yuuei had set aside for the first year tournament.They really had gone all out on the Sports Festival,but it really was expected from the number one hero school.It even overshadowed the Olympics,but was perfectly suited for an era of superpowers-it was a celebration of quirks and culminated goals for the students and a chance for hero agencies to scout for potential sidekicks.To him,it was a chance to show the world what he could do.It was hard to continue his mantra though,especially with Todoroki walking up to him.And proceeding to challenge him in front of the entire class (do note Bakugou sulking in the background and otherwise being his usual sunny self.)

When it came to his classmates,Izuku would say that they were all inspiring in their own ways when you really got to know them (of course,Mineta who?) but as of now,he had only really gotten close to Tsuyu,Iida and Uraraka.For some reason,he’d get a weird sense of deja vu whenever all of them were together,like he’d been friends with them in a previous life or something.He respected Uraraka for her willpower to earn enough money to let her parents have a break-with a goal like that empowering her dreams,she’d surely become an amazing hero.Iida,with his admiration of his older brother and his unique way of showing that he cared,was already a hero in all the ways that mattered.

Whenever his thoughts were on Todoroki,Izuku found his heart skipping a beat at his somehow familiar and totally gorgeous face,yet his soul felt a urge to be closer to Todoroki.However,Izuku had mixed feelings on approaching him.He didn’t seem to be keen on making friends,so Izuku had no idea exactly why he felt so torn up over the issue.

Later,he wouldn’t say that he held no regret for pushing Todoroki and Bakugou to the ground during the first event.Everyone was striving to reach the top,and even the kind-hearted Izuku was not exempt from it and would do whatever he had to do to reach the top.

When Iida had refused to join his team for the cavalry challenge,Izuku was,for a brief moment,unsettled by the intensity of Todoroki’s glare and thus quickly left to recruit Tokoyami.

He didn’t notice the dejection in Todoroki’s bicoloured eyes at Izuku’s staunch refusal to make eye contact with him.Though it looked like whatever Todoroki had felt was suppressed as his team cornered Izuku’s within the last few minutes of the calvary event.  
At this point,Izuku was backed into a corner,with Kaminari as an unfortunately effective offence ( a counter to Dark Shadow) and Yaoyaorozu as defence with her versatile Creation quirk,not counting Iida (Izuku felt a pang of slight betrayal ) with his Recipro Burst.Todoroki was definitely out of their league in both points,quirk and improvisation skills.He decided to just give up on not using his quirk (since he couldn’t control it ) throughout the first two rounds.After a very dramatic snatch of one of Todoroki’s headbands,and the subsequent realization that indeed,it was not the one million point headband,Izuku swung his head up and met Todoroki’s onyx and turquoise gaze.

Time seemed to stand still as Todoroki’s eyes widened imperceptibly and he seemed to try and whisper,”Izu-”

Whatever he was trying to say was cut off by Present Mic’s loud exclamation that the second round was over.Izuku couldn’t concentrate on the announcement of the rankings,drowning out the cheers from the crowd as he puzzled to himself over what Todoroki had said.

Todoroki had said in those fleeting moments,”Izuku,is that you?”

First off,Todoroki shouldn’t have known his first name or was usually too polite and distant to address him as such besides.Secondly,what had he meant when he said “is that you”?He would continue to mull thoughtfully over this for the next few days.

Todoroki pulling him aside didn’t help improve his state of mind either.Staring at each other across the corridor,silence strung taut between each other like a fragile spider web,neither seemed willing to speak.After an eternity,Izuku coughed (he hadn’t been checking Todoroki out,not at all).

“Ah,Todoroki-kun,you had something to tell me..?”Well,in Izuku’s opinion,that could have gone better.Once Todoroki had opened his mouth and told a tale of a lost childhood,a absent mother and abusive father with the motto “the ends justify the means” and a subsequent deep-seated grudge against the man which led to the scar and the refusal to use his left side in battle.Speechless,Izuku watched Todoroki leave.He...seemed so much the same,and yet-

He had never looked as sad and as far away as he did now.

That moment still stayed with him through his match with Shinsou.Even as he encouraged Shinsou to go beyond all the expectations that he’d had and strive for his goals,he smiled sadly,both for the fact that people like Shinsou were constantly sidelined and ridiculed,and for the boy with the night and ocean eyes who seemed to carry the world’s sorrows in his heart.

Shinsou’s eyes seemed to glint with an ancient wisdom before he sighed resignedly and guided a seemingly mentally comatose Izuku to the sickbay,where upon Recovery Girl had shared a worried look with Shinsou and indicated for him to stay.

“...Is he okay,Recovery Girl.”Shinsou intoned in a mildly concerned tone,watching as she wrapped bandages around his injured fingers.”I’ll take him back to the stands.”She smiled a strange smile,one of regret and melancholy.

She turned to gaze unseeing out of the window as she whispered,”Take care of him.He has the burdens of the world on his shoulders,and I do not wish to see another suffer the same fate again.”Ignoring Shinsou’s look of confusion,she closed the door in his face.

Izuku’s friends,Iida and Uraraka,had sent him a look of gratitude and relief as he gently settled Izuku into a chair,careful to avoid the injured hand.

“Hey there,Shinsou-kun.Stay with us.It’s the least we can do,after you helped Izuku.”Uraraka,her brown bob bouncing in the wind,patted the seat beside her to indicate that he sit there.She watched Todoroki and Sero make their way down to prepare for their match,before turning to him to speak again.

“Shinsou-kun,you are kind.We’re all really grateful to you for taking care of our friend and providing support to him when he needs it.Izuku is really something inspiring...but…”her voice trailed off into a thoughtful silence.

“He doesn’t speak about his past much,right?Besides,he carries too much expectations of himself.I’d know that.It seems like he has been searching for something only to be given false hope,and he’s given up.Please help him find his resolve again.”Shinsou met her gaze with a delicate sort of weariness and tucked his head into his arms to fall asleep,leaving her to think about his mysterious answers.

What Uraraka hadn’t noticed was that Izuku had been wide awake all along and listening,his heart asking questions he had no answer to.( He’d been looking for Shouto,the voice from his dreams-wasn’t he Todoroki?Why did he look so...broken?)

Next was his match with Todoroki,and Izuku had long given up the fight to triumph over Todoroki.However,he’d never give up his conviction to help Todoroki realise that,after all power will be good or bad depending on the holder,and he wanted to show him that Todoroki Shouto’s powers could be a force for good.

This time,Izuku stepped into the arena,his shoulders squared and standing tall against the piercing gazes of the crowd around him,the scrutiny of the world and the expectations of All Might and his mother.He took slow,methodical steps,eyes never leaving Todoroki,who looked unnerved but still had a look of hatred in his eyes.

Taking his position on the platform,his arms in a defensive position and fingers ready to set off hurricane-force gales,he whispered a silent apology to All Might,hoping that he wouldn’t be too disappointed with him for what was about to happen.After all,Izuku was certain that he wouldn’t be able to win.

Suffice to say,Izuku was thoroughly thrashed by Todoroki,lighting up Todoroki’s conviction to be a hero with the embers of his own burning conviction.As he slid down the side of the arena wall,Izuku felt warm arms support him,and night and ocean eyes blinked down at him in a mixture of panic and concern as his vision faded out.

When he finally regained conciousness,he had missed the semifinals as well as Iida,who had left early to take care of family matters.However,the most surprising thing was-

“Midoriya,I have to speak with you.Meet me at Dagobah beach at sunrise tomorrow.”Todoroki smiled,the corners of his mouth tilting up slightly and his eyes glinting with an indescribable emotion.”Thank you.”

This time,as Todoroki walked away,Izuku and Uraraka could almost see the spring in his step and the way he smiled to himself.Uraraka smirked to herself at the look of yearning in Izuku’s eyes as his eyes trailed Todoroki’s retreating back.

“Hey Deku-kun,nice going.You got yourself a date!Finally!”Uraraka cheered,exchanging a look with Shinsou,who just smiled wryly and muttered that he needed caffeine and that his contact was with Izuku.Izuku sputtered and tried to refute it,to the disbelief of pretty much everyone there.

The next morning,Izuku overslept his alarm and thus was found to be rushing towards the designated meeting place.When he reached there,Todoroki was already there and was staring out to the ocean.Unwilling to break Todoroki from his contemplative trance,Izuku joined him in staring at the ocean,basking in the companionable silence only the two of them shared.

“Hey,Midoriya-kun,can I call you Izuku and can you call me Shouto?Well,it seems fitting to me.”Izuku thought so too,in all the ways that counted.

“I’m extremely grateful to you.You’ve showed me that I’m not bound by my blood and given me back a part of my life I thought I had lost.Izuku,you have given me faith that there are kind people like you out there in the world,but you didn’t have to help me.So why?”Shouto was crying pure,cleansing tears now,the darkness of a lost childhood and the whistle of a kettle the furthest things on his mind,to be left behind as memories of a darker time before Shouto had renewed his conviction to become a hero that would save people and help them stand up against people like Endeavour.

“I just couldn’t leave someone who looked like they needed help alone.”Izuku’s face further reddened on the proximity of Shouto’s face towards him.In a smaller voice,he whispered,”I also couldn’t leave you alone,I’d never leave you alone.”

Shouto looked at him in an odd mixture of awe,admiration and relief,and a thousand more indescribable feelings in his soul.The rising sun glinted through strands the colour of pristine snowfields in Hokkaido and rubies and the viridian green forest with black highlights,turning all of them gold for a fleeting moment.

In that moment,they truly saw each other as who they really were.(Of course they knew each other,they had so many chances to)

“Hey,this is going to be weird,but…””Yes,...”

 

“Have we met in another life?”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments!!!Thanks!


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